To have someone you know die suddenly is always difficult. When that person's death has national and international significance it is mind boggling. A friend who lost her brother in law on 9/11 likened our experience to hers and I said, respectfully, that that situation was even more horrific than this. She said simply, "Horrifc is horrific. there is no more or less." She's right.
I am happy that every single report on Ambassador Stevens mentioned what a personable guy he was and how delighted he was to be in Libya. Both the United States and Libya lost a great man. And I do believe that Libyans are genuinely sad as well. Chris Stevens was very well liked by the people there and this fringe element, or sect, of band of outlaws or whatever they are, did not act and do not speak for the Libyans that Chris loved.
But his family is suffering the worst loss. We were Chris' friends, not family. He had many many friends and I know all of them feel as we do, shocked, sad and lost. I cannot begin to imagine what his family is going through. My heart breaks for them.
To add to the surreal nature of the day, I was fielding calls from reporters looking for Steve and watching Steve on various television stations, listening to him on the radio and reading about him on the internet. He expressed reluctance to be interviewed at first, it was difficult thing for him to to, but he thought it was important to honor his friend, and I thought he did a spectacular job. That too was bizarre, though. Steve was taken to the Moscone Center to be interviewed by NBC. They were already there covering the release of the new IPhone 5. He had to wait for his interview to begin and felt like he had been dropped in another planet as he waited to tell the national news about his friend Chris Stevens but had to listen to people prattering on about the newest gadget.
I promise to return to our regularly scheduled programming because even as I was dealing with all of this yesterday, I was dealing with issues in Maggie's world and using every ounce of my wavering composure to keep from blowing my stack. I survived, because it was all just so so stupid, especially in light of the days events.
I do want to share this picture, because it gave me hope in the midst of a very hopeless day.
Peace on earth. Goodwill to men
My thoughts have been with you the last couple of days -- the whole story is so scary and awful even when you don't personally know those who died. I can't imagine how terrible it is for friends and family -- how chaotic and mind-blowing. I imagine love will put those terrors to rest and will continue to think of all of you as you mourn.
ReplyDeleteSally, I am so sorry for yours and Steve's loss. You have an ability to make us take a moment from our busy lives and think about what really matters. I mean this in the most sincere way. Over and over you do this for me, especially when I need to hear your message. I do believe in God and I do believe He sends your blog my way when it's most important for me to forget the crap and focus on what's important. Love to all. Peace too. XOXOXO
ReplyDelete